


it is night (and time is passing)

by bittersnake



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Gen, Nyx had many many many children, because Nyx had so so many kids, i read way to much wikipedia and it shows, non-graphic pregnancy mentions, so many
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersnake/pseuds/bittersnake
Summary: or all the mistakes made before Zagreus
Relationships: Nyx & Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	it is night (and time is passing)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crookedspoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/gifts).



In the beginning, all Nyx knew was Chaos. The only two entities in existence, Chaos and the Night. And yet, Nyx was not enough for Chaos and thus Erebus, the Darkness, was drawn from the deepest core of the ether along with an odd sensation that Nyx had no words for. A pulling, longing stirring within her whenever Chaos spoke softly to him as opposed to her. It gnawed at her at heart and yet she was filled with guilt. Chaos would not create Darkness unless there was a need for him. A need that Nyx could not fulfill. But now, _now_ they must be complete. Chaos, the Night, and the Darkness.

Chaos was everywhere and nowhere at all times. In contrast, Brother Erebus was a constant steady presence for Nyx. Someone always there to hear her cries and sorrows and comfort her in turn. And thus, they fell into each other for an age. When Erebus and Nyx finally rose, they breathed as one and with that breath birthed a brightness into the infinite abyss in which they lived. Gently, ever so gently, Nyx gathered the shuddering brightness into a cluster and held him to her cold bosom. She had never felt such a warmth and vibrancy in her life as what she held within her arms. Thus, Brother Darkness and Sister Night brought forth the Aether, the Brightness, into being.

Nyx and Erebus had no concept of parenthood or what it entailed from Chaos. The only thing that Chaos did upon their awareness of this child of Night and Darkness, their first grandchild, was gently toss stardust upon their person and then return into the abyss. Nyx had long been accustomed to the coming and goings of Chaos and thought nothing of it. Erebus was not as absent, but he was a distant parent to Aether. Darkness did not wish to quench the Brightness and the Brightness, in turn, did not wish to reject the Darkness. They needed each other and yet they could not exist within the same space for long. It was a delicate peace, their small family, but yet Nyx felt such sorrow in spite of both her brother-husband and son claiming contentedness.

After a time, Chaos came to her awareness again but this time they brought a new guest to their abyss—Gaia. Where Chaos was changeable and erratic, Gaia was calm and steady. Grounding. And thus, the earth came to be covered in Night and Darkness. It was a cold existence without Aether’s constant presence. Due to this, Nyx and Erebus began to lie together more often to gain some illusion of the warmth that their child once provided. Thus, Nyx bore another child, Hemera. Upon birth, Hemera immediately scurried away from her mother. Her womb-wet footprints stained Gaia's flesh until she was far enough to coalesce into the Day. Of course, Aether made fast friends with Hemera, their natures harmonious, but she relationship flourished with Erebus as well; the three of them often joined forces to make ephemeral shapes upon Gaia. And yet, there was a distance between her and Nyx. 

_Yet again, I've birthed someone who rejects me,_ Nyx thought sadly. 

And so, Nyx ran. She ran and ran and ran until she came across a cave carved from Gaia's flesh and it was there that Nyx hid. Within her step-mother's heart, Nyx screamed. Her cries shook Gaia's flesh for so long that her cries birthed _Moros_ and the _Keres,_ Doom, and Destruction _,_ a son and an ever-shifting daughter. Together, they soothed their mother's cries and took her rage within themselves, whispering promises to never forget her as they went to explore all that Gaia had. Nyx sobbed more at being abandoned once again and from this new distress, _Oizys_ and _Momos_ came into being. They flung their arms about her, their warm birth-scent infusing her sense for a time. And yet, even they left to sow the world with pain and distress and the blame that accompanied it. And so again, the Night was alone. 

Time moved on and so did her family. Wars were fought and won and, within that cave carved from her stepmother's flesh, Nyx birthed more daughters. Four of them, Philotes, Eris, Nemesis, and Apate quickly left the cave to whisper across the earth. Three of them stayed behind, their eyes staring unblinkingly at Mother Night. Unlike their siblings, they named themselves; Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. And it was upon their birth that Nyx knew she could hide and mourn no longer. She wrapped herself in a cloak spun from the stars that her three daughters had collected and left for the home of her brother-grandson, Tartarus. As she crossed the threshold to her relative's home, she passed her first daughter, Hemera, her presence a beacon in the dusk that surrounded them. Upon seeing her estranged daughter full of light after an eternity of darkness, Nyx felt gladness in her heart for the first time in eons. From this joy, Nyx gave birth to Hesperides, the nymphs of the evening. They were not a constant presence for Nyx but she saw them often enough and on occasion even brought their oldest sister with them for a spell. 

Nyx cared not about the wars her many relatives waged upon Gaia and took no sides in spite of their pleading. Instead, she focused on making a home for her most recent children, Thanatos, Charon, and Hypnos. They grew slower than their older siblings and Nyx took solace in that. Instead of hiding, she sat with them on the banks of the Styx telling them stories of her parent Chaos and their older siblings. Listening to them as they cried instead of hiding away from all who cared for her when it became their natures overwhelmed her. And thus, in spite of a war waging, her home was at peace.

Finally, one day the Moirai crept down to Tartarus to sit at their mother's bedside. Instead of speaking, they wove a tapestry across her bed telling her of a god of the dead and his arrival. They left as soon as Atropos clipped the final thread of the piece. Nyx gathered her sons and prepared them for the coming of Hades.

* * *

The Queen of the Dead has left. The birthing bed is still slick with the gold of her divine blood and lying motionless in a pool of it is an infant as cold as ice. Her wails echo in the halls and shake the doors lining the corridors of Nyx’s memories. Persephone is leaving. 

Much like Day cannot thrive in the constant presence of Night, Life cannot thrive in Death. _At Least Not Now,_ the Fates whisper in her ears. Her daughters take far too much joy in obfuscating—it's part of the reason why Thanatos disappears whenever they come to visit, preferring the kind of clarity his dealings as Death provides. And yet, here is a death lying in front of her and there is no sign of her son. She gently strokes the skin of the tiny godling lying upon the bed. His skin is still slick and his heart still does not beat, and yet _Death has not arrived to take him_. Nyx slowly wraps the babe ( _Zagreus, his name shall be Zagreus_ ) in her star-spun robes and leaves the House of Hades. The path she walks has long stood unused, and yet, ever reliable, it still brings her to the mouth of that familiar cave. 

"The Night has Arrived," Clotho states as she spins threads across a wall filled with spindles.

"Have You Come With A Present For Us," mutters Lachesis as she measures threads spread across the floor of the cave.

"Or Perhaps You Wish For A Present," Atropos beams as she clips threads seemingly at random.

Nyx stays silent, holding her cold parcel to her bosom. She's learned that sooner or later her daughters will seek to fill the silence. 

"Where Is Our Dear Brother, O' Night?" Lachesis asks. A snake, currently shedding, hisses irritably in the corner as if offended. 

"Not, You Geras," Atropos croons as she pets her snake-brother's head to mollify him. "Our Dear Oft-Hated Brother And His Merciless Scythe."

"Truly, We Have A Death On Our Doorstep," muses Clotho as she turns to face her mother. "And Yet, I Sense Our Mother Does Not Wish To See That Son."

"I wish to ask a favor of you, my daughters." Nyx steps over the threshold into the domain of the Fates. "This one's thread has been cut short."

Lachesis head swerves to the bundle in Nyx's arms. "Oh, And You Know This How Mother? Can You See His Fate? It Seems, Sisters, The Night Hides Many Secrets." 

"Thanatos is one of the most diligent of my children, and yet he is nowhere to be found. He can sense the death of the smallest mouse and yet, the death of this godling goes unnoticed by him still. Either he is ignoring it or--" Nyx turns to face Atropos. "Something is hiding this from him. I only know three beings who could hide something from Death Himself and I am begging for them to intercede with this child."

"This Child Is Doomed To Die, Mother Night," Clotho whispers into Nyx's ear. "Die, And Die, And Die." 

"And Yet, Rise, And Rise, And Rise." Lachesis muses as she strokes the fine dusting of dark hair that covers the infant’s head. 

"So Much Work From Just One Godling." Atropos moans.

"We all have a role to play my daughters."

"And Are You Prepared To Play The Role Of Mother, O' Night," the Moirai ask in unison. 

Nyx stills at this question. She knows that she has been an inconsistent mother at times, either binding them to her too tightly, leaving them stifled and eager to flee her embrace, or putting too much distance between them, leading them to leave her in spite of her love for them. Even as she stares upon the small wrinkled face in her arms, Nyx knows that she will fail in some ways with this child. But she will also strive to learn from the mistakes she has made so at least he will always believe that he can return to her.

"No," she answers, softly looking down at the fragile bundle in her arms. "But I will do the best I can for this one."

* * *

The Night returns to the House of Hades, breaking the oppressive silence that has fallen on the mansion with the cries of the child---no, the cries of _Zagreus_ as she crosses the threshold.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you enjoyed this little dive into the life of Nyx and how she reached the level of?? stability to become Zagreus's mom?  
> Comments and/or critique are loved.


End file.
